Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021 NBA Play-In Tournament on May 19, 2021 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.
Adam Pantozzi | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
NBA star Steph Curry is now setting his sights on closing the racial wealth gap in the U.S., joining on Thursday the nonprofit NinetyToZero.
“Uncovering solutions and creating opportunities is something I’m profoundly committed to. Bridging the racial wealth gap is one of the biggest challenges of our generation,” Curry said Thursday in a press release about the move. “We are setting a concrete approach that every organization can take to initiate meaningful progress now.”
NinetyToZero estimates that closing the racial wealth gap could increase U.S. economic growth by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Research from Duke University puts the wealth gap between Black and white Americans at between $11 trillion to $13.5 trillion.
Curry along with the NFL’s Washington Football Team, payment company American Express, cannabis company Green Thumb Industries, and the United Way of New York City announced Thursday they would also join the organization as partners.
According to its website, NinetyToZero provides a roadmap for companies and organizations to drive change now, focusing on Black talent and businesses. The name of the non-profit comes from the belief that white Americans have 90% more wealth than Black Americans due to socio-economic disparities.
NinetyToZero was started in April by companies and organizations including Goldman Sachs, Starbucks and the Robin Hood foundation, which has been incubating the initiative. NinetyToZero will ultimately will become independent of the foundation.
“Green Thumb is proud to be the first cannabis company to walk the walk in our commitment to closing the racial wealth gap that has been exacerbated by the failed ‘war on drugs.’ Black Americans are 3.6 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana infractions than white Americans, and over 40,000 cannabis prisoners are still incarcerated while regulated companies continue to grow and thrive,” said Ben Kovler, founder, chairman and CEO of Green Thumb Industries.
Other partners include the American Civil Liberties Union as well as Michelle Williams, dead of the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, and Marc Morial, president and CEO of the Urban League.
